Print control apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

When a printer apparatus is allowed to execute a printing of a document using paper based on a print setting set by the user, the following processes are executed in order to allow the user to recognize a paper saving print setting. Whether or not there is a print setting which can save an amount of paper compared to the print setting set by the user is determined. If it is determined that a paper saving print setting exists, the user is notified of such a paper saving print setting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to print control apparatus and method forallowing a printer apparatus to execute a printing based on printsettings set by a user.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the related art, when a printer apparatus is allowed to execute aprinting, the user makes print settings such as size and orientation ofa sheet (or paper) and subsequently instructs the printing. When theprinting is instructed, there is also a case where in a printer driveror the like, the printing is executed according to the print settingswhich have already been made, without displaying a display screen forprint setting.

A print preview function for enabling the user to previously confirm howan image is arranged on the paper prior to executing the printing hasbeen known (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2006-202112). By using the print preview function, the user can executethe printing after confirming that, for example, if the image is rotatedby 90°, the paper can be unwastefully used.

However, in the related art, in order to execute the printing in whichthe paper is unwastefully used, the user needs to preliminarily know thesettings adapted to print without wastefully using the paper and to makesuch settings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an aspect of the invention to solve the above problems.

Another aspect of the invention is to allow the user to execute aprinting based on print settings in which paper can be saved.

The above-mentioned aspects and further features of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description ofexemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a construction of a print processingsystem PR1.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a user interface of a printer driver.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow for processes at the time ofactivating the printer driver.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for determining whether ornot the paper can be saved.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a table T1 showing a determinationresult.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating examples of a print preview.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a dialog adapted tonotify that the paper can be saved.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating examples of a print preview.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating examples of a print preview.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating examples of a print preview.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the invention will be described in detail hereinbelowwith reference to the drawings. A construction illustrated in thefollowing embodiment is nothing but an example and the invention is notlimited to the illustrated construction.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a construction of a print processingsystem PR1 including a personal computer (hereinbelow, referred to as aPC) 201 as an example of a print control apparatus of the invention anda large-sized printer (hereinbelow, referred to as a printer) 202 as anexample of a printer apparatus. The PC 201 and the printer 202 aremutually connected through a network or a local interface and canexchange various kinds of information.

The PC 201 can be realized by a general personal computer and includesprocessing modules 203 to 209, which will be described hereinbelow.Those modules can be installed into the PC 201 by using an installerobtained from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or from the outside.Each module installed into the PC 201 is stored into a storage device ofthe PC 201. A CPU executes each module, so that processes, which will bedescribed hereinafter, are realized. A display is connected to the PC201. The various kinds of information are displayed onto the display,thereby enabling the user to be notified of the various kinds ofinformation. Input devices such as keyboard, mouse, and the like areconnected to the PC 201. The user inputs various kinds of instructionsfrom the input device with reference to a display screen displayed onthe display. The following various kinds of processes are executedaccording to the contents which were input.

An OS 203 is an operating system. The processing modules 204 to 209operate on the OS 203. A printer driver 204 controls the operation ofthe printer 202 according to print settings designated by the user. Theprinter driver 204 provides at least functions 206 to 208. Anapplication 205 is software to form a desired original (document) as aprint target. The user selects the printer 202 from a print menu of theapplication 205, so that the printer driver 204 can be activated. A userinterface (UI) 206 provides a setting display screen which is used bythe user to make the print settings or the like. The setting displayscreen which is provided by the user interface 206 is displayed on thedisplay of the PC 201. A graphic processing unit 207 processes theoriginal obtained from the application 205 according to the printsettings designated by the user and converts it into print data whichcan be handled by the printer 202.

The user interface 206 forms display screen information which is used bythe user to make various kinds of settings such as print setting and thelike. An operating display screen based on the display screeninformation is displayed on the display of the PC 201. According to theprint settings set based on the display screen information formed by theuser interface 206, the graphic processing unit 207 converts theoriginal received from the application 205 into the print data of aformat which can be handled by the printer 202. Before the originalreceived from the application 205 is printed by the printer 202, a printpreview control unit 208 forms print preview information showing how animage based on the original is arranged on the sheet. The print previewinformation formed here is displayed on the display of the PC 201. Aprinter information acquiring unit 209 acquires various kinds ofinformation such as size information and the like of the set paper fromthe printer 202.

The printer 202 receives the print data transmitted from the PC 201 andprints the image onto the paper according to the print data. When theimage is printed, one of ink and toner is used as a recording material.The printer 202 can use roll paper as paper (recording medium) to printthe image. The printer 202 prints the image by applying the recordingmaterial onto the roll paper which is fed from a roll paper feedingunit. A material of the recording medium is not limited to the paper butvarious kinds of materials can be used. However, it is assumedhereinbelow that the recording medium is expressed as roll paper. Whenthe image is printed onto the roll paper, based on an instruction fromthe printer driver 204, the printer 202 can print the image of anarbitrary length (in a paper feeding direction) so long as it is apermissible length. After completion of the printing of the lengthdesignated from the printer driver 204, the roll paper can be cut. Theprinter 202 may be provided with a feeding unit for the cut paper andcan also print the image onto the cut paper. As size information, theprinter 202 transmits information showing a width of roll paper withrespect to the roll paper and information showing a width/length sizewith respect to the cut paper, to the printer information acquiring unit209.

Subsequently, the operation contents at the time when the user instructsthe printing from the PC 201 will be described. FIG. 2 illustrates anoperating display screen (driver UI) which is displayed on the displayof the PC 201 based on the display screen information which is formed bythe user interface 206. The display screen of FIG. 2 is displayed in thecase where the user selected the printer 202 from the print menu of theapplication 205.

In FIG. 2, a combo box 301 is provided to designate the size of originalformed by the application 205. The original size designated when theoriginal is formed by the application 205 is automatically input. When adifferent size is designated here, the original is zoomed according tothe size. A combo box 302 is provided to designate a type of feeding thepaper which is used to print the image. As a paper feeding type whichcan be designated, there is roll paper, a cassette (in which the cutpaper has been set), a manual insertion, or the like. If there are aplurality of paper feeding units which can feed the roll paper, a paperfeeding stage can be also designated. A combo box 303 displays the widthof roll paper set in the printer 202. When the roll paper is selected asa paper feeding type, the roll paper width is acquired from the printer202 by the printer information acquiring unit 209. However, if the rollpaper width cannot be acquired from the printer 202 by the printerinformation acquiring unit 209, it may be selected by the operation ofthe user and displayed. In the subsequent processes, the roll paperwidth acquired by the printer information acquiring unit 209 or the rollpaper width selected by the user is also similarly handled. When thecassette is selected as a paper feeding type, a size of cut paper (sizeof the A series or the B series of ISO) is displayed.

A check box 304 is one of paper saving functions and is provided todesignate whether or not the original is rotated by 90° to executeprinting. If the paper feeding type indicates the roll paper and theoriginal is vertically long and a length of long side of the original isequal to or less than the width of roll paper, the original is rotatedby 90° for printing, whereby margins (portions other than the original)are smaller than margins which are obtained by printing in a state wherethe original is held to be vertically long. Thus, since a paper feedingamount is decreased, the paper can be saved. In such a case, by markingthe check box 304, the graphic processing unit 207 allows the originalto be rotated and, thereafter, transmits the print data to the printer202. In a case, though the original was rotated by 90°, the paper savingcannot be accomplished (for example, in the case where the original isvertically long and the length of long side of the original is longerthan the width of roll paper), the printing is not executed even if thecheck box 304 was marked.

A check box 305 is one of the paper saving functions and is provided todesignate whether or not portions (upper and lower margins) in which avalid image (image to which the recording material should be appliedupon printing) is not included in the original received from theapplication 205 are erased. When the paper feeding type indicates theroll paper and the upper and lower (portions corresponding to theupstream and downstream positions in the paper feeding direction of theroll paper) margins of the original are erased irrespective of thedesignated original size, an amount of the roll paper which is used canbe reduced, so that the paper can be saved. In such a case, by markingthe check box 305, the graphic processing unit 207 allows the upper andlower portions where the valid image is not included to be erased fromthe original, and thereafter transmits the print data to the printer202.

Although the case where the page is rotated by 90° and the case wherethe upper and lower margins are erased have been shown as paper savingfunctions, the invention is not limited to them but a function of savingthe paper by another method may be added, the above method may bereplaced by another method, or one of the above two methods may be used.

A check box 306 is provided to designate whether or not a print previewis performed before executing the printing. If an OK button 307 isdesignated in a state where the check box 306 has been marked, the printpreview is executed. If the printing is instructed after the printpreview was executed, the print data is transmitted to the printer 202.If the OK button 307 is designated in a state where the check box 306 isnot marked, the print data is transmitted to the printer 202 withoutexecuting the print preview.

If the OK button 307 is designated, the print data to which theforegoing setting contents have been reflected is sent to the graphicprocessing unit 207 and the window (driver UI) of FIG. 2 is closed. Whenthe print preview is executed, the graphic processing unit 207 transmitsthe print data to which the contents set by the driver UI have beenreflected to the print preview control unit 208. If the print preview isnot executed, the print data is transferred to the printer 202 and theprinting is executed. If a cancel button 308 is designated, the contentswhich have been set and changed by the user on the display screen ofFIG. 2 are not validated and the window of FIG. 2 is closed in a statebefore the display screen of FIG. 2 is displayed.

Subsequently, a flow for processes when the printer driver 204 isactivated will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flowfor the processes. The flowchart shows the processes which are executedin the case where the CPU of the PC 201 reads out the program of theprinter driver 204 from a storage device, loads it into the RAM, andexecutes the program.

When the user forms the original as a print target by the application205 and selects the printer 202 from the print menu of the application205, the printer driver 204 is activated and the contents which havebeen set at present by the combo boxes 301 and 302 and the check boxes304 to 306 in FIG. 2 are acquired (S101). It is assumed here that the“roll paper” has been set as a paper feeding type and the check box 306has been marked.

Subsequently, whether or not size information (in this instance, sincethe paper feeding type indicates the roll paper, the width of rollpaper) of the paper which is used for printing can be acquired from theprinter 202 is determined in the printer information acquiring unit 209(S102). If it can be acquired, information of the width of roll paperwhich has been set in the printer 202 at present and is used forprinting is acquired by the printer information acquiring unit 209 inS103. If it cannot be acquired, information of the width of roll paperwhich has been designated in the combo box 303 is acquired. The acquiredinformation of the roll paper width is stored into the RAM in the PC201.

Subsequently, the processing routine advances to S104 and whether or notthe printing in which the paper is saved can be performed is determinedbased on the size of original as a print target and the width of rollpaper which is used for printing.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating details of the process of S104.

When the process is started, first, a table T1 for determining whetheror not the printing in which the paper is saved can be performed isformed in the RAM. The table T1 is initialized in S401.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the table T1. Thefollowing items 501 to 503 are involved in the table T1 as items of thepaper saving functions. The item 501 shows a processing result in thecase where the page has been rotated by 90°. The item 502 shows aprocessing result in the case where the upper and lower margins havebeen erased and the page has been rotated by 90°. The item 503 shows aprocessing result in the case where the upper and lower margins havebeen erased but the page is not rotated by 90°. The processing resultshowing whether or not the paper can be saved(possible=True/impossible=False) and a paper saving amount (length) inthe case of “True” are written in each of the items. In a state wherethe table T1 has been initialized, “False” is written in all of thedetermination results and “0 mm (zero millimeter)” is written in all ofthe paper saving amounts.

Subsequently, whether or not the check box 304 has been marked isdetermined in S402 based on the information acquired in S101. If it hasbeen marked, since this means that the user has already instructed thatthe page is rotated by 90° as a paper saving function, whether or notthe paper can be saved by rotating the page by 90° is not determined butthe processing routine advances to S406. If the check box 304 is notmarked, S403 follows and whether or not the original can be rotated by90° and printed is determined based on the size of original as a printtarget displayed in the combo box 301 and the acquired width of rollpaper which is used for printing. That is, whether or not the length oforiginal in the direction corresponding to the roll paper width in thecase where the original has been rotated by 90° is equal to or less thanthe acquired roll paper width is determined. If the printing in whichthe original has been rotated by 90° cannot be performed, S406 follows.In S404, the length of paper which can be saved when the original hasbeen rotated by 90° as compared with that in the case where it is notrotated is calculated. It is assumed here that the size of the originalis the vertically long size and the paper at the time when the originalis rotated by 90° can be saved. Since the paper at the time when theoriginal is rotated by 90° can be saved, in S405, the determinationresult in the item 501 on the table T1 indicates “True” and the papersaving amount is updated to the length (of paper which can be saved)calculated in S404. If the size of the original is the laterally longsize and the paper at the time when the original is rotated by 90°cannot be saved, it is determined and its determination result may bereflected to the table T1.

Whether or not the check box 305 has been marked is determined in S406based on the information acquired in S101. If it has been marked, sincethis means that the user has already instructed the operation forerasing the upper and lower margins as a paper saving function, whetheror not the paper can be saved by erasing the upper and lower margins isnot determined but the processing routine is finished. If the check box305 is not marked, S407 follows, and whether or not there are the upperand lower margins which can be erased in the case where the original asa print target has been rotated by 90° and in the case where it is notrotated, is determined. If there are the margins which can be erased,the paper saving amounts of the upper and lower margins in the casewhere the original has been rotated by 90° and those in the case whereit is not rotated are calculated in S408. In S409, the determinationresults in the items 502 and 503 on the table T1 indicate “True” and thepaper saving amount is updated to the length (of paper which can besaved) calculated in S408. If the upper and lower margins which can beerased do not exist in the case where the original has been rotated by90° or in the case where it is not rotated, the determination result isheld to be “False”.

Returning to FIG. 3, the contents of the table T1 updated as illustratedin FIG. 4 are confirmed in S105. If the determination result of “True”is included in any one of the items 501 to 503, the processing routineadvances to S106. Since the check box 306 has been marked here, theprint preview is performed. At this time, a largest one of the papersaving amounts on the table T1 is also simultaneously displayed. If thedetermination result of “True” is not included in the items 501 to 503,this means that the paper saving function cannot be used. The processingroutine advances to S107 and the print preview is displayed withoutnotifying that the paper can be saved.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the print preview whichis displayed in S106. The print preview is displayed on the display ofthe PC 201 under control of the print preview control unit 208.

A print preview display area 601, a print button 602, a cancel button603, a button 604, and a paper saving possible amount display area 605are included in the preview display screen.

How the original as a print target is arranged on the roll paper whichis used for printing based on the information obtained in S101 and S103is displayed in the print preview display area 601. The case where theroll paper has been selected as a paper feeding type is illustrated inFIG. 6. The paper feeding direction is a direction which is orientedfrom the lower position to the upper position. When the print button 602is designated in this state, in the graphic processing unit 207, theprocess based on the paper saving function is not executed to theoriginal as a print target but the original is converted into the printdata and the print data is transmitted to the printer 202. When thecancel button 603 is designated, the window of FIG. 6 is closed and theprinting process is cancelled. A maximum value of the paper savingpossible amount is displayed in the display area 605. A larger one ofthe paper saving possible amount in the item 503 and the sum of thepaper saving possible amounts in the items 501 and 502 is used herebased on the table T1. That is, since the sum of the paper savingpossible amounts in the items 501 and 502 is equal to 140 mm and thepaper saving possible amount in the item 503 is equal to 150 mm in FIG.6, 150 mm is displayed in the display area 605.

When the button 604 is designated, a dialog like FIG. 7 for notifyingthe user that the paper can be saved is displayed. Although check boxes701 and 702 are included in the dialog, the items of “False” on thetable T1 cannot be selected.

The paper saving possible amount is displayed in a display area 703according to the selecting states of the check boxes 701 and 702. Sincethe check box 701 has been marked in FIG. 7, 90 mm is displayed withreference to the value in the item 501 on the table T1.

When an OK button 704 is designated, the contents designated in thecheck boxes 701 and 702 are reflected to the print preview. When acancel button 705 is designated, the display screen is returned to thedisplay screen of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the print preview which is displayed inthe case where the OK button 704 is designated in the state where thecheck box 701 has been marked. A print preview display area 801illustrates a state where the original of FIG. 6 has been rotated by90°. When the print button is designated in this state, in the graphicprocessing unit 207, the original as a print target is rotated by 90°and, thereafter, it is converted into the print data and the print datais transmitted to the printer 202. In the display, the paper savingpossible amount may be also simultaneously displayed. When a button 802is designated, the display screen is returned to the display screen ofFIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the print preview which is displayed inthe case where the OK button 704 is designated in the state where thecheck box 702 has been marked. A print preview display area 901illustrates a state where the upper and lower margins have been erasedfrom the original of FIG. 6. When the print button is designated in thisstate, in the graphic processing unit 207, the upper and lower marginsare erased from the original as a print target and, thereafter, theoriginal is converted into the print data and the print data istransmitted to the printer 202. Other operations are similar to those inthe example of FIG. 8.

When both of the check boxes 701 and 702 have been marked in FIG. 7, theoriginal in the case where the original was rotated by 90° and the upperand lower margins were erased is displayed. Other operations are similarto those in the cases of FIGS. 8 and 9.

The print preview in the case where the paper saving function is usedand the print preview in the case where it is not used may besimultaneously displayed as illustrated in FIG. 10. That is, when the OKbutton 704 is designated in the dialog of FIG. 7, the print preview ofFIG. 10 is displayed in place of the print previews of FIGS. 8 and 9. Aprint preview display area 1001 is similar to that of FIG. 6. A printpreview display area 1002 is similar to those of FIGS. 8 and 9. A button1003, a print button 1004, and a cancel button 1005 are also similar tothose described above and their description is omitted here.

According to the embodiment as mentioned above, when the user does notuse the paper saving function, the user can easily recognize theexistence of the paper saving function which was not used. When theprinting in which the paper can be saved by an amount larger than thatin the case of the present print settings can be performed, the user caneasily recognize it.

Further, according to the embodiment mentioned above, the user caneasily recognize the paper saving amount which can be saved by settingthe paper saving function. Moreover, the user can easily compare theprint result obtained in the case where the paper saving function hasbeen set and that in the case where the paper saving function is notset. The user can easily select the setting of the paper savingfunction.

By the print preview having those functions, the user can easily set thepaper saving function while previously confirming the print result andcan properly suppress wasteful use of the paper upon printing.

In the above embodiment, when the dialog of FIG. 7 is displayed, themarking states of the check boxes 701 and 702 may be reflected so thatthe maximum amount of paper can be saved. That is, since it is the item503 that the printer driver 204 can mostly save the paper amount withreference to the table T1, the marking of the check box 701 is reset andthe check box 702 is marked in the dialog of FIG. 7. Thus, in thisexample merely by designating the OK button 704 with the check box 702marked and the check box 701 unmarked, the user can execute the printingin which the paper amount can be saved the most.

When the print preview of FIG. 6 is displayed, such a print preview thatthe state of the item 503 in which the paper amount can be mostly savedhas been reflected may be displayed. Consequently, merely by designatingthe print button 602 as it is, the user can execute the printing inwhich the paper amount can be saved the most.

Although the case where the print data is transmitted from the PC 201 tothe printer 202 and printed has been described above as an example, theinvention can be also applied to such a system that a scanner forreading the original is provided for the printer 202 and an image of theoriginal read out by the scanner is printed. In this case, the printer202 is a print control apparatus, the processes executed by the PC 201as described above are executed by the printer 202 and the displayinformation is displayed onto an operation panel or the like of theprinter 202. A controller (print control apparatus) of the printer 202allows its own printer unit (printer apparatus) to execute the printing.

The invention is also realized by executing the following processes:processes which are executed in the case where software (program) forrealizing the functions of the embodiments mentioned above is suppliedto a system or an apparatus through a network or various kinds ofstorage media and a computer (or a CPU, an MPU, or the like) of thesystem or apparatus reads out and executes the program. The programwhich is executed by the printer apparatus may be executed by one CPU ormay be executed by a plurality of CPUs in an interlocking relationalmanner. The processes may be executed by properly combining software andhardware. The program may be executed by a CPU of an apparatus providedoutside the printer apparatus in place of the CPU in the printerapparatus.

The invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments but variousmodifications (including a combination of a plurality of embodiments)are possible based on a spirit of the invention and they are notexcluded from the scope of the invention.

Although the various examples and embodiments of the invention have beendescribed above, the spirit and scope of the invention is not limited bythe specific description of the invention.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2009-056096, filed Mar. 10, 2009, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

1.-7. (canceled)
 8. An apparatus, comprising: a receiving unitconfigured to receive a print setting; a determining unit configured todetermine saving information of a sheet based on the print settingreceived by the receiving unit; and a display control unit configured tocause a display unit to display a print preview of an image and thesaving information of the sheet determined by the determining unit on adisplay screen.
 9. A method executed by an apparatus, comprising:receiving a print setting; determining saving information of a sheetbased on the received print setting; and displaying a print preview ofthe image and the determined saving information of the sheet on adisplay screen.
 10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring a program to be executed by a computer, said program beingadapted for controlling an apparatus, said program comprising: receivinga print setting; determining saving information of a sheet based on thereceived print setting; and displaying a print preview of the image andthe determined saving information of the sheet on a display screen.